With the approach of the apparent head of the mages came a shift in Sanae's method of attack as well. While the frogs worked perfectly fine when it came to clearing out huge swaths of enemies, focusing one person out was a different story.

In other words, it was time for a bit more focus.

While her rapid-fire streams of ofuda continued en masse, the exploding amphibian-shaped projectiles were replaced by ones that looked like snakes. Instead of exploding on impact, though, these projectiles seems to suddenly shift direction the second that they were in line with any enemy they barreled towards. They weren't explicitly homing, per se—that was and had always been Reimu's schtick, after all—but the speed and force at which they barreled towards their targets more than made up for that lack of perfect tracking.

The appearance of a massive laser crashing into one of Saria's shields, though, caused Sanae to pull backwards by instinct. Lasers were fairly common in danmaku battles, of course, so it was less their presence that shocked her and moreso how much of a change of pace they were from the comparatively slow projectiles she had to dodge until then they were.

"I don't know about you not participating," Sanae quipped back as she shifted herself to the side to allow the lasers to barely graze past her body, "because I'm pretty sure that lasers that strong cause a lot of collateral. Speaking from experience, of course."

The less to be said of Marisa's Master Spark, the better.

@Raineh Daze@VitaVitaAR

---

With their position now exposed, the sniper wasted no time in trying to create more distance between themselves and their target. Being charged at was in and of itself an issue—ideally the situation would have been resolved well before the enemy had any time to ascertain where they were or had any chance to close in to begin with—but at this point there was nothing else to be done but try to deal with it as best they could.

In this case, that meant diving out of the way and back behind cover as the being in front of him began to fire away.

"Semi-instantaneous movement, shield, projectiles... Annoying, but probably less so than that green one," the figure muttered under their breath as they peeked out from behind cover every few seconds or so in an attempt to wait for the initial suppressive fire to time out. Once the barrage seemed to relax (if even momentarily), though, they sprang out and fired a few more arrows from a shortbow before breaking into a sprint. A few more arrows were let loose as the archer tried to force their opponent to maintain focus upon their frontal assault, but the last among them seemed a bit... Different. With their opponent's vision obscured by the shield in front of them, the sniper took the chance to aim this arrow, head glowing a faint white-green, towards the sky. Another, glowing a deeper shade of green, was aimed below beneath their target.

The first arrow seemed to explode at the apex of it's arc, letting loose an incredibly loud explosion of light; the latter instead seemed to sprout into a quickly growing, writhing mass of vines surrounding a flower that looked eerily reminiscent of an eye with black sclera.

Before long, the plant would attempt to lash out at the nearest being—namely, in other words, the one situated above it—and attempt to bind it in place. All the while, the sniper began to move around in an attempt to land a follow-up shot—hopefully one that would lead to a more decisive result.

@DracoLunaris

---

If the assassin was shaken by the sudden appearance of the girl's savior, no sign of it would be seen on their face.

Not that much could be seen to begin with, given the apparent mask covering the lower half of their face.

Regardless of what they thought, though, it was quite apparent that despite everything going "right" that the attempt on the girl's life had failed—and rather spectacularly at that. But while the option to simply flee was on the table, another attempt would have an even lower chance of success now that she was on guard.

It was rather unfortunate, but that meant that the only choice they had left was to die trying. Failures like these could only be rectified as such.

After making clear distance from the girl and her summon, the assassin pulled down their mask and seemed to slip something into their mouth before attempting to close the distance once more. Once they drew close enough, though, they would quickly attempt to feint an attack forward before releasing what it was they had prepared moments prior—a poisonous mist that promptly billowed out of their mouth in an attempt to cover the area.

The goal was never to stay in the fight for too long, of course; ducking in and out of the fray of combat and wearing the enemy down until they could try and land a lucky hit in seemed like the only course of action against an opponent like this.

@VitaVitaAR

---

"I guess that's what they call golems overseas, huh? But no memory of a maker... That's a damn shame," the blonde man sighed, shaking his head as he watched to see how his opponent would react to the wave of energy he had just loosed. "Oh well. Guess dragging your remains to the magicians to study will have to do."

Of course, when the "toa" blocked his attack, the glaivier couldn't help but feel a little bit surprised. That surprise was only compounded as the hulking humanoid leaped far beyond what would have been possible of something of that size.

That only seemed to excite him more, though.

"Haha! All right, if that's the sort of game you're going to play, then I'll take you head on!" he shouted back, weapon ready to clash with his opponent's own. The blast of air that preceded the strike pushed him momentarily off balance, however, and the strike that followed forced the blonde man to block the attack somewhat awkwardly. Using the ground as leverage was doing him no favors, but at the very least it wouldn't mean that he would fall to a simple trick like that.

"Not bad, not bad!" he called out, using both arms to brace himself against his weapon as he attempted to push Lewa back or the weapon to the side to create an opportunity for a counterattack. "But I'm not going to fall over that easily!"

@Lugubrious

---

Though shaken by Anne's shift in demeanor, Alvin paused for a moment before swallowing and nodding. Leading everyone to the location wouldn't be difficult, but doing so while treading carefully and while on edge was doing him no favors. Every time the shadows changed or he heard something shift, the boy would pause for a moment before continuing.

And by some stroke of luck, the group would make it to the cave without issue. Glimpses past the underbrush en route would make it clear that their suspicions were warranted; soldiers wearing the same sort of garb of those that had been present during the attack on the church seemed to be combing through the area in search of... Well, them.

"This is the place..." the boy trailed off before the sound of metal meeting stone caught his attention.

Slowly, from within the cavern came a young woman, her armor that same shade of purple as those that the Raven Heralds donned. At her sides were a pair of swords, and though neither was drawn it would be foolish to assume that she wouldn't try to strike back.

But rather than immediately call out for backup or attack, the woman simply came to a stop and stared at the newcomers. Her gaze passed over the group—the woman ready for combat, the boy mustering all of his strength to stay standing, and the young man holding an unconscious girl—before she spoke her piece.

"...I suppose I've the fortune—or possibly misfortune—of finding you," she said, glancing for a moment towards the cave behind her before placing one hand onto the hilt of one of those sheathed blades. "I'm only here for that girl, though; the other Heralds under Varst might be bloodthirsty brutes, but I'm not keen on needless bloodshed. If you hand her over, we can simply move on with our lives. Given your injuries, that seems like an enticing offer, no?"

At this, Alvin seemed to realize what it was that was happening and turned to the others before shaking his head from side to side in a panic. Though words seemed to be failing him, gestures alone seemed to convey what it was that he was feeling.

"Well, regardless of if you want to accept or not, the sound of fighting will inevitably draw others here. I'm in no rush, but I would recommend you weigh your options here before someone less open to negotiations arrives."

@Drifting Pollen@EchoWolff

"I do not cause collateral damage."

It was in that same monotone that the girl delivered her response to Sanae. However, there may have been some barely perceptible force in her voice, now.

Perhaps the mage did not like the assertion that she could be so careless. Whatever the case, her expression didn't change when the snakelike magical projectiles twisted around her.

"Nonlethal does not mean ineffective," she commented, flatly. As she did, she raised her staff, momentarily ceasing her attack to instead cast a defensive spell, constructing a multidirectional barrier of complex, interlaced mana in the form of circles similar to those from which her lasers originated.

Sanae's danmaku washed over the barriers.

"Divinity?" she questioned, tilting her head, "Inconclusive. Complex serpent patterns. Is the appearance a-"

Her externalized train of thought was interrupted when a hole was blown through her barriers by the hurtling chunk of sharp white rock from below.

"Ah-"

Blood.

It hadn't been a direct hit. The horned mage girl had twisted her body, but the tip had managed to catch her at her waist, tearing her clothing and cutting into her side.

And yet, her expression didn't change, even as she placed her free hand to her wound.

"... A mistake. I anticipated only magical projectiles," she commented, drifting back as her barriers crumbled, "A projection? No mana was detected. What kind of technique..."

If anything, she seemed far more concerned with understanding what Saria did then her new injury.

"... Further observation is required."

This time, it was at least a dozen circles of light that appeared in the air behind the small, purple haired girl.

With a flick of her staff, they rained down, targetting both Sanae and Saria. Had anyone paid attention, they would perhaps note that the beams curved away from any intact buildings or living villagers.

It was difficult to tell if this was simply how her spell targeted her enemies or if it was because she was consciously avoiding collateral damage, however. What would be evident is that these beams of magical energy seemed denser, as if perhaps she was attempting to test how sturdy Saria's shields were.

@Raineh Daze@PKMNB0Y

---

Lily skipped back as the Umbral Knight moved forward, blade raised. But unfortunately, her attacker had already moved out of range. She could already tell her friends with long-ranging abilities would be the best at trying to stop them. No sooner then she had realized that, however, was the masked figure already moving in again.

"Lily, cover your mouth and nose!" shouted the Umbral Knight. Without thinking about it, Lily slapped her hands over her face.

It wasn't a moment too soon. Moments later, a vile, sickly purple-green mist issued forth from the assassin's mouth. Lily didn't need any assistance to understand what this was.

Poison.

She'd seen plenty of poison in Land's End. For that matter, she's seen plenty that worked just like this: A mist that billowed over an area and began wearing down anyone who stepped into it. It was a spell used by some of the corrupted mages she'd encountered.

It had covered a wide enough area that Lily wasn't sure how to get away quickly. And on top of that, anyone nearby could be in danger---

Ah!

She had a way to deal with this!

Holding her breath, Lily called forth another of her friends.

She had the shape of a tall woman, but her body seemed to be choked by(and possibly composed partly of) twisted and gnarled plant matter.

As she raised her arms, a twisted, swirling wind rose with her, tinted red and cutting like razors, but also drawing the poison upwards and inwards, collecting it and condensing it to keep it from spreading further.

No sooner then the whirlwind had formed then the Witch reappeared, replacing the Umbral Knight and letting forth another hail of dark magical energy orbs at Lily's attacker.

@PKMNB0Y

"Focus on protecting the kids first. They're what's most important here." Anne kept her voice low and her steps light, ready to leap into action at a moment's notice as they cautiously crept through the woods. She didn't doubt that Joker's support would be useful if they had to engage, but she didn't want him putting himself in harm's way for her sake. The adults protect the children... At least, that's the way it should be.

Fortunately, she didn't have to put that ideal to the test right away. The forest was crawling with Heralds, but Alvin clearly knew the terrain, and his quiet guidance helped them slip through in the end. When they reached the cave entrance Anne even allowed herself a small sigh of relief, which lasted all of half a second before she suddenly stepped out in front of the group.

Even out here on this unknown, far-flung planet, it seemed her luck was as bad as ever.

The enemy slipped out of the shadows with the calm stride of one wholly confident in her ability, a different breed entirely from the common soldiers who'd attacked the church. Anne glared back at her, and stood protectively before the others like a human shield. It was dark here, and her vision in her right eyes was still a little blurred, but even so she focused as best she could and zeroed in on the important details. Posture, footing, the way she laid her hand on one sword and seemingly let her guard down by glancing back for a moment. Every living creature had a pattern to how they moved, and reading that, predicting their intent, was a cornerstone of martial arts.

In the same vein, Anne deliberately played into the woman's assumptions and let herself appear more hurt than she really was. Heavy breaths, a small slouch, an uneven distribution of weight. Her hands didn't move towards her two swords, both sheathed at her left side.

"...From a tactical standpoint, it doesn't make any sense." She'd been wondering about this for a while, now. "Sending that many soldiers to search for a single child, even while your main force is under attack. If she was of high birth then maybe it'd be worth all that effort, but that clearly isn't the case here." Her eyes narrowed. "What's your angle? What are you even planning to do with her if we hand her over?"

@EchoWolff@PKMNB0Y

Lewa had very little experience fighting humanoid opponents, much less ones possessing martial skill. When his adversary shifted his stance and his grip on his polearm, the Toa of Air read it as a preparatory move for a strong technique that he needed to stop in its tracks. Accordingly, he put his substantial weight into a strong two-handed axe chop, hoping that even if he didn’t connect with his opponent’s body, the heavy blow would at least hack apart his weapon’s shaft. After all, he’d noticed that this glaive, unlike solid protodermis toa tools, incorporated a length of wood into its design. And what were axes for, if not chopping wood?

Needless to say, things didn't go how he planned. His enemy caught him mid-swing, intercepting and deflecting his weapon. Even if it wasn’t a battle axe, a hatchet in motion had a lot of momentum, and to the braggart’s credit he possessed the skill to turn that inertia against its wielder. Lewa suddenly found himself exposed, fast enough that he was left wondering what just happened, and before he could come to any conclusions the Raven Herald delivered a counterattack. The polearm’s glinting head thrust into the thick, rubbery cable mesh around Lewa’s neck, getting about an inch in before the material’s resistance and it stuck against of the metal with the armor around Lewa’s collarbone. Just as quickly as he stabbed it forward the man withdrew his weapon to prevent entanglements, and as he did Lewa jumped back, spurred to action by the pain.

The toa winced, suddenly worried. His enemy, knowing that his weapon probably couldn’t pierce (and might actually break against) solid metal armor, had aimed for his heartlight. It was a small and high target to hit, but the fact that he’d gotten so close was a cause for alarm. This man’s attitude wasn’t just empty egomania; he had the skill to back it up. Lewa knew he couldn’t fall prey to strategies like that again. He needed to leverage his own talents in turn.

Lewa changed his grip, releasing his axe with his left hand and sliding the right further up toward the head for better control. With how long his foe’s polearm was, a little extra range for the axe wouldn’t make any difference. That also opened up his hand for air manipulation. After whirling his left to whip up the wind, Lewa thrust his palm outward to summon an air current that blew from behind him, plowing into his opponent -as well as the lackeys behind him- head-on. That resistance would make it harder for him to move forward, orient his glaive, and attack. It also tugged at his fancy cape, increasing the chance that it wrapped or tangled, and even made it harder to hear as the wind roared in his ears. At the end of the day it was just a stiff breeze, but all the little disadvantages it imposed would add up, even if the Raven Herald’s pride convinced him it was nothing to worry about.

This tailwind offered one other boon for Lewa: it would speed him on his way when he moved forward. For a moment he remained on defense, compressing air into an orb in his off hand. If his adversary thought this was to sustain the wind, he would be surely mistaken. Then Lewa burst forward, much faster than a ‘golem’ of his size should be able to, and as he closed the distance he brought his off-hand forward to unleash an explosive blast of air from just outside melee range. Depending on how that went, he might then follow up with a one-handed axe swing, ideally at his enemy’s weapon itself.

Dealing with a flying opponent was definitely trouble; it was one of the few times Saria could remember thinking that a crossbow would be of particular use to her. At least other enemies she had fought had to stand on a solid surface and gave her more to work with... this one wasn't even flying within easy reach of a rooftop.

Not that her lasers were penefdating her barrier yet, the beams' increased intensity continuing to be matched by the white crystal. Yet the increase in speed and power made focusing on an arts-based counter an even riskier proposition, with the enemy Caster no doubt looking out for it.

Fortunately, this wasn't a particularly built up area, nor was it in the best condition now that the village was under attack. It only took a little observation to find a stopgap to keep the mage distracted: a handy rock.

Baseball hadn't been her interest, but that didn't mean that a Vouivre of her strength didn't still have one hell of a mean throw.

Rayne mentally cursed as her triple shot spell ran out more or less as soon as she had started to really make use of it. With the volume of fire that seemed to have forced the sniper to keep his head down subsided, the arrows started to fly again, and they were, ironically, faster than her bullets. It was, as a result, a lot easier for her foe to get a bead on her than for her to do so on them, particularly because Rayne was not used to evasive foes (Golems and monsters didn’t really have human survival instincts) but mostly because her big glowing bullets where slow and unsubtle.

As a result of this she was put firmly on the defensive, blinking, blocking until two more mystical bolts flew above and below her. Light and sound exploded above her, deafening her- but not blinding, for the Knight Witch’s distinctive wide brimmed hat saved her eyes from much of the light. The goggles sat on that hat did nothing however, when ironically if she had been wearing them she would have been entirely fine.

Still, it meant that when she instinctively flinched her gaze down and away from the flash, her vision was still clear enough to see the verdant growth lashing up at her. It wasn’t quite enough time to stop the first lashing vine from wrapping around her leg, but it was enough for her to have already started pulling out the solution.

Runedge crashed down, cleaving through both the vine wrapping around her ankle. For a moment she looked like an actual knight, sword and shield in hand, but as the blade was made for a woman twice her size, she had to banish it away immediately after lest it rip itself from her grip. In its palace the gun rune reformed and blasted out, vaporizing the away the next vine, after which she blindly fired it downwards, pumping shots into the plant, as she checked above her for threats, but fortunately the blast had only been light and sound, and not a volatile birth of something to perform a pincer maneuver on her

The archer however was still an issue, and more arrows flashed forth, prompting her to blink away. She did not, however, chase her foe right away. Instead she took advantage of the stationary target that she had no ethical qualms about taking down, blasting away as she dove down towards it, briefly swapping out her battered shield for her masterwork sword, and driving Runedge right into the eye of the plant.

Mana that had bubbled off of the plant when she’d struck/shot it pooled into her as it withered around her, filling her to the brim, and then some more as she equipped a new weapon, this time doing it so in advance so as to not waste mana.

Then she was off after her target again, but this time when she opened up it was not with a triple shot, but a whole grapshot’s worth of bullets. They might have all been individually weaker, but the resulting cones of damage were far harder to evade.

She gave them one warning shot and a request to “please surrender!” and if she wasn’t getting that she’d use the shotgun as a suppressive tool as she closed in to try and disarm them via a blade to the bow.

And if that didn’t get her a surrender, she’d do what she had to, even if she hated it.

Despite the response that her words seemed to have upon the mage opposing them, Sanae noted that nothing in particular actually seemed to change with regards to how the battle was panning out—at least, not at first. Her danmaku being blocked by an array of defensive spells wasn't something foreign to her, but seeing Saria's own projectile pierce straight through caused the flying shrine maiden to pause for a moment to register the impact. The injury that came about as a result of that attack seemed to be somewhat shallow, but the fact that she could make it out from this distance—and how the mage seemed somewhat rattled by the attack—meant that it could just as well be an opening to exploit.

Of course, that brought with it a renewed offensive from their opponent—and one that Sanae would choose to meet with more aggressive movement. While she had been careful until now, the new cluster of laser beams seemed to be trained onto her position. So long as she didn't stay in one place for too long or could simply outpace the speed at which they approached her, then they wouldn't be an issue.

With that thought in mind, Sanae quickly barreled into the array of lasers and began to weave through the barrage on a path towards the mage. If Saria's own attacks were more likely than her own to leave any lasting damage, then it fell to her to force her opponent's eyes on her to allow for another opportunity for those hits to land.

As the lasers seemed to crash into one another or miss outright, Sanae quickly closed the distance between herself and her opponent before attempting to barrage the mage with even more bullets. While the earlier engagement had resulted in her bullets being rendered ineffective, maybe reducing the amound of time between impacts would allow for some of them to get through at this distance.

If not, though, maybe it'd give Saria's next attack a chance at leaving more of a lasting impact.

@VitaVitaAR@Raineh Daze

---

Outclassed though the archer was, surrender seemed to be rather low on the list of things that they seemed to be considering as they continued to fire away at their target. The combination attack that they had loosed seemed to do little to actually disorient the girl in front of him as it had traditionally done—no thanks due to the muscle memory that had caused them to fire the flashbang arrow above rather than below them. The ensuing combat had left the plant he had caused to sprout little more than a mild nuisance, but there seemed to still be some amount of confidence in the archer's actions as they began to retreat from the fray. Pursuit was buit a given, but the girl's apparent recitience towards taking a life was something that they reasoned could be taken advantage of.

Dropping a small orb of something as they fled, the sniper began to run into a more claustrophobic area between the houses. The alleyway was narrow and left little room for cover to dodge behind, but that was an acceptable trade given the situation. As the knight-apparent gave chase and fired away, her opponent would leap against the walls, gaining just enough vertical distance to be able to fire another few arrows from above.

The goal, however, was not to actually hit the girl this time, given how well that had fared the last few times. No, the goal this time was whatever had been dropped behind moments prior. The follow-up attack cracking their bow in half had left their defeat all but guaranteed, but the impact of one of the stray arrows onto the orb below had caused the latter to begin to light up and glow an unnerving mix of orange and white.

Then, after a brief delay, the reason for that glow made itself known as an explosion rang out from behind them, destroying the nearby walls and the pillars supporting them and causing the buildings to begin to collapse towards both the archer (who had begun to fall back towards the ground) and their opponent.

"I'd sooner bite off my own tongue than surrender," the sniper—whose hood had finally begun to fly off from the descent to reveal the face of a teenage young man with matted red hair—said as he threw what remained of his bow away as he fell. "Better to die a person than live as a slave."

@DracoLunaris

---

The fact that the cloud of poison had been nullified in an instant seemed to cause the assassin to grow at least somewhat agitated. No matter how they assessed the situation right now, their chance of victory was infinitesimal; the initial sneak attack had failed miserably, their backup plan was made nonexistent with next to no effort, and at this point in time recovering their discarded blade to try another attack could only end in a humiliating death given how quickly the girl seemed to be able to switch between summons.

As the girl seemed to prepare a counterattack, the assassin's eye seemed to flash for a moment, and a magical sigil appeared for but a brief moment before the orbs rained down upon them. Rather than attempt to dodge, though, the assassin's body seemed to slacken as they stared at the oncoming attack.

The cloud of dust and dirt thrown into the air left the air humming with tension, but the sight of the assassin's body now left headless and peppered with holes made it quite clear that the only result from this last attack was a quick but brutal execution.

@VitaVitaAR

---

The fact that his slash hadn't exactly pierced through the toa's open body didn't seem to concern the blonde man as much as it did annoy him—though maybe such a result would have been expected when he was facing an enemy he knew next to nothing about. The blows he had taken were incredibly weighty, but the glaivier felt that the attacks were nowhere near as calculated as those of a fighter's should have been. Rather than fighting people...

"A golem made for fighting monsters, huh?" he guessed, readying himself for another clash of blades as the toa retreated for a brief reprieve. "I guess that if you just hit beasts hard enough, they're bound to die eventually."

Almost as if in response to his taunt, though, his opponent loosed a howling gale towards him. The Heralds who were waiting in the wings were swept back by the attack if not barely holding on, but the blonde man facing the attack head-on chose to dig in his heels and keep his eyes trained upon the golem ahead. With his cape flying in the wind, the glaivier simply braced himself and remained steadfast. All the while, of course, the glow upon his weapon began to flare up once more.

What he did not expect, though, was the toa closing in upon him in mere moments. Leaping high into the skies was no odd feat in his eyes, but a massive golem closing that distance in next to no time caused the blonde to flinch. That hesitation would prove to be his undoing, as the spiraling winds in the golem's hand swiftly met his torso and sent him flying backwards. His stance broken as he careened backwards and into a tree, the blonde man let out a cry of pain at the moment of impact before falling to one knee.

There was a brief pause before he slowly rose back to his feet, though, a look of indignant anger on his face quite evident to see as he spit out a bit of blood from his mouth.

"You're smarter than you look," he growled, stabbing his weapon into the dirt to push himself back up, "Guess I need to take your head first."

By now, the aura that was radiating off of the blade had consumed the weapon in its entirety and seemed to be slowly crawling up his arm. Even so, the blonde man seemed to not be going on to counteroffensive—at least, not quite yet, if his previous mannerisms were anything to go off of.

@Lugubrious

---

"To be quite frank, I don't know what madness would have caused that fool to stretch his forces even thinner," the woman responded, disdain evident in her voice, "much less the rest of the things he's done since arriving here. I have dozens of complaints about him acting as he has, especially given how we could've resolved this issue in a matter of hours, but I suppose there's no merit in telling you about his failings when they're evident enough."

With a sigh, the Raven Herald shook her head and glanced at the group. Her gaze lingered for a moment upon the young boy who had begun to move behind the two older people in the group, but soon enough her attention shifted back towards the woman who had taken the role of de facto representative before she continued.

"But that's neither here nor there. I have no reason to disclose why we came to retrieve her, though, so I would advise against prying into—"

Before she could finish speaking, though, a small white magic sigil would appear next to the woman's ear, and her previously impassive gaze turned to one of mild concern. There was a pause before she nodded her head and responded with a simple 'understood' before turning back towards the four people in front of her.

"...Well, that certainly changes things. Maybe leaving her in your care isn't the worst idea..." she mused out loud before throwing a small box towards the injured woman. "I suppose this works just as well, then. A different choice, then. Hand the child over, take the items in that box and fall into hell with me, or a fight. Given the current situation, my leeway for negotiations has been cut rather short, but I presume you're still not willing to hand her over. The choice is yours, and for your sake I hope you choose quickly."

@Drifting Pollen@EchoWolff

Rayne dodged, weaved, blocked and fired until she finally thought she had her foe cornered, pursuing them down the alleyway. It was a bit of a double edged sword however as it made it nearly as hard for her to dodge as it was for them, the knight-which complained exasperatedly “how are you not out of arrows yet?”

It didn’t really matter in the end how endless their quiver was, because as she closed in, she saw her chance to end his ability to fire its contents. She dodged under the last arrows they fired, not really thinking about how easy it had been this time, and then summoned and swung her blade in one motion, cleaving through the bow. She let out half a breath of relief that it was finally dealt with, only for things to explode behind her.

“Wha-?” she exhaled, glancing behind her, only to see the buildings on either side starting to tip down towards them, the shattered remnants behind pulling the rest of the walls down in a rapidly approaching wave.

“Why?!” she began to demand to know, but the sniper, no, the young man, no the boy, was already answering, and it left her shocked. Part of her mind reeled at the implication, that it seemed to be that he only thought she wasn’t trying to kill him because she wanted to enslave him (and what that meant about the world she’d ended up in), but the rest saw a child about to be crushed and reacted accordingly. All the mental buildup to do the ugly deed that needed to be done was annihilated in an instant as who Rayne really was at her core came racing back to the fore. The only reason she had the power to kill in the first place: to save people.

With an impassioned cry of “no!” she blinked forwards, grabbed him by the front of his garb to stop him from falling, pulled him close, and then turned to light again, this time, for the first time, using the fact that she still had collision in that state to drag him after her. Then before the blink screeched to a halt she hurled him forwards, giving him all the momentum he was about to lose and sending him tumbling clear from the incoming collapse.

Then she did stop, and in the moment she had to wait to blink again, the building was going to crush her. Rather than face her fate, a hand flicked a spellcard and used it to form a massive ornate ax in front of her, one near as large as the buildings themselves, which then cleaved up over her head at breakneck speeds, careening into the debris and literally annihilating it, wood and stone vaporizing under the blow, and buying her just enough time to blink again and out of harm's way as well.

Dust swept fourth over her even though she was out of the way of the debris after she stopped. It was a thing that wearing her goggles would once again have helped with, but as it was she had to clear the air by waving her hat around, before setting it back on her head and then, if the boy was even still here, would ask “hey, are you ok?”

A moment after she’d remembered what he said and then ad “and I don’t want to enslave you! I would never, that’s just horrible. I just don’t want anyone else to die. So just … run. Leave. Go home to your parents, before one of the others does kill you” her genuine concern for his life clear on her face, no matter how foolish it was to let someone who had just tried to kill you live.

Anne caught the box one-handed, and peered at it with a frown. It could technically be a trap, some kind of oddly-shaped hand grenade, but the circumstances told her that wasn't the case. Millie was still close at hand, within the potential blast radius, and the Herald woman had specifically mentioned wanting to retrieve the girl rather than eliminate her. That all but confirmed Anne's suspicions that the enemy wanted Millie alive, or at the very least intact.

...And that gives us a bargaining chip.

That white sigil may have been unknown to her, but she could tell its purpose. The tide must have finally turned back in the village, and someone up the chain of command was getting antsy, demanding results before the Heralds took any further losses. Time was on Anne's side now, and she very deliberately paused for a long few seconds before she responded.

"You'd have me trade an innocent young girl... For a gift box?" She popped it open with her thumb, just long enough to take a quick peek inside before she snapped the top closed again. "You people don't understand the value of human lives. Maybe if you did, you'd be a little less careless with your own."

The tone of her voice had changed. She let her anger show, her stubbornness, one hand clenched so tight into a fist that the Herald would be able to hear it squeeze. "You're not sure you can win, are you? Not without risking your prize in the thick of the fight. Maybe you really are stronger, but my allies could be here any minute—and if those idiots under Varst arrive first, they'll only screw things up for you even more." Everything she'd learned about the woman, her goals and her fears, Anne threw back at her now. If it didn't make her back down, then it might at least create an opening, a critical moment of hesitation.

"...So leave while you can. We'll keep Millie safe for now, and you can come back next time with more competent lackeys. At least this time, we can both walk away without losing anything."

@EchoWolff@PKMNB0Y

The Witch faded away.

Lily took a deep breath, watching as the man's body crumpled to the ground. While it was hardly a clean death, it was far from the worst she had ever seen. At least the fact his head was gone meant he had died quickly.

The Umbral Knight reappeared, gazing down at the fallen, decapitated corpse in silence.

"Something's strange..."

Lily's attention had quickly left the body, as she now turned towards the villagers. She didn't have any means to repair any damage herself, but she wanted to do something to help protect them better. It looked like most of the enemy soldiers were in retreat, so after a few moments she nodded to herself.

"You want to stay by the villagers, don't you?" the Umbral Knight asked. Lily nodded.

"Then of course, I'll stay by your side."

@PKMNB0Y

---

"Six Petal Lily."

The fact that the spell's name was spoken this time was a marked departure from the mage's prior wordless casting. And, indeed, the barrier that intercepted Sanae's barrage resembled a flower, one of its petals falling away on the initial impact of her danmaku. Using it much like a physical shield to keep a barrier between herself and Sanae's attacks, the horned girl shifted her attention fully to the target below.

Just quickly enough to see the rock that had been sent hurtling her way.

It was trivial to dodge, and if she'd seen it coming sooner it couldn't have been any issue.

But---

There was an ugly crunch when it struck her shoulder, her body jolted as the impact knocked her sideways.

"..."

The first sign of any expression on her face was the fact that she winced, now. A tear could be seen welling in the corner of her left eye.

"... I see... physical strength and a mysterious ability that does not use mana," the mage commented, her voice still remaining almost entirely level, "A high-grade threat. Further analysis in this situation would be foolish."

She took aim with her staff. While her barrier had almost certainly lost at least one more petal since she conjured it, she believed she would have enough time.

Her magic couldn't pierce whatever defenses the horned woman had prior, so she would escalate to the strongest barrier piercing spells she had at her disposal.

The light built at the tip of her staff, and though her hand shook slightly her aim did not leave the horned woman below.

Even if it failed, she'd at least be able to judge the extent of her enemy's defenses, or her agility.

"Astral Lance."

The light that exploded from the tip of her staff was different from her prior attacks. It was thin, condensed, a beam of mana that was compressed in order to allow it as much piercing capability as possible.

@PKMNB0Y@Raineh Daze

With the wind at his back, Lewa got the extra burst of speed he needed to land a solid blow on his buffeted foe. As it shattered the man’s poise and sent him flying backward into the foliage, that blast of compressed air made it clear -and in no uncertain terms- that despite his lack of experience, he wouldn’t be a pushover. Elated by the rush of satisfaction and renewed confidence, Lewa recovered and hoisted his axe up onto his shoulder in a heroic pose for the viewing pleasure of the stunned Raven Herald audience. Duels might not be his forte, but the toa of air knew how to leave an impression. Still, he didn’t plan to get too cocky. His opponent stirred at the base of tree trunk where he’d ended up, confirming that the fight wasn’t over just yet.

Though that concentrated airblast and the resulting arboreal impact hurt the man’s body, leaving a bevy of bruises and lacerations where his getup failed to negate or blunt the damage, it seemed to have hurt his pride even more. The blonde simmered like a pot seconds away from boiling over, a mixture of rage and disbelief accentuated with blood on his face. He wasn’t the only thing burning, though. While Lewa had noticed the strange energy dancing across his adversary’s weapon during the fight so far, he hadn’t thought anything of it. It was only natural that a warrior with elemental powers of some stripe would use them to strengthen his or her weapons. Igniting his flame-shaped blade was a favorite technique of Tahu’s for instance, and he used that blaze to great effect against rahi and bohrok alike.

As the man struggled to regain his feet, however, Lewa saw that strange energy not only engulf the weapon, but also spread over the Raven Herald’s flesh. Like wildfire racing through the scrubland where jungled Le-wahi bordered the volcanic wastes of Ta-wahi, threatening to rage out of control and consume everything in its wake if not stopped by the proper precautions. At the sight of it, Lewa couldn’t help but be concerned, even if his opponent didn’t seem to be. “Your weapon-tool,” he warned. “It’s light-burning you. Eating you.” Even as he spoke, he felt a sense of uselessness, fairly certain that his words were falling on deaf ears. His time around Tahu had taught him more than the ins and outs of combat; he’d also learned well his brother’s fiery temper and pride, a sharp contrast against his own more easygoing persona, not to mention the cold calculation of their brother Kopaku. He glanced around toward the uproar of the other fights. It seemed like things were going in his team’s favor. “You should retreat. No shame-regret in running to live another day.”

In the probably case that the man didn’t listen, though, Lewa hefted his hatchet. He flourished it once, then grasped it with both hands. If his foe wanted to stand there and smolder, the toa didn’t mind taking the initiative to put him out. The toa would whirl his axe around like he did before, then on the third swung unleash the same whirlwind that unseated the rider earlier to bear down on the Raven Heralds like a miniature hurricane. It probably wouldn’t do more than knock them down or toss them back, but hopefully it would convince them to flee.

"I take offense to the idea that I do not know the worth of a life—or that I couldn't simply cut you down where you stand," the woman responded simply, not bothering to see what the group of people behind her might have been planning to try with her back turned to them. "I do suppose my phrasing might have been less than ideal, but I should clarify, in case you consider my actions those of a coward: if you do not wish to hand that child over, then make sure you are ready to place your life on the line to keep her safe rather than barking like a stray dog desperate for scraps. Consider the contents of that box a gift of sorts; whether or not you plan to make use of them matters little to me."

With that, the Raven Herald left the four behind. Alvin, who by this point had been subconsciously holding his breath the entire time, let out a sigh of relief as he fell to his knees. The tension in the air had been nearly suffocating, but the woman's choice to retreat meant that they were (hopefully) in the clear.

The black box that the woman had thrown only contained a few items, though: a necklace adorned with a black-metal emblem comprised on a circle and a cross, a delicately engraved jewel of some sort with what seemed to be symbols of some sort on every facet, and a vial of some strange blue-green salve. None of them were labeled, but it was clear that there had to be some sort of purpose to everything here.

@Drifting Pollen@EchoWolff

---

Despite her attempts to break through the mage's new barrier, Sanae found next to no success—at least, not immediately. The green-haired girl's projectiles hammered into the barrier without pause, and with there being little more than a fraction of a second between one volley and the next, that barrier surely could not last forever.

At least, that was what Sanae hoped was the case. She didn't have the speed to simply try and press the attack from a different angle, so all that she could do was attempt to push through with sheer volume. A point-blank spell card also seemed like a course of action to take here, but that would inevitably result in far more damage to the surrounding town (or what remained of it, at least).

Those thoughts were promptly thrown out the window, though, when a baseball-sized rock seemed to barrel through the skies and struck the mage in the shoulder. Sanae couldn't help but wince at the sound, despite it being her enemy that was struck and not her. She had a front-row seat to the results, of course, and the bleeding arm and cracked bones together did not a pleasant visual make.

Hopefully leaving Saria to try and block the attack that had just been fired in retaliation wouldn't lead to a less-than-ideal situation as a result.

@VitaVitaAR@Raineh Daze

---

"Retreat? You would dare suggest that I retreat!?" the blonde man spat back, now thoroughly insulted by the toa's choice of words. It had been one thing to catch him off guard in a fight, but it seemed that insulting his pride was one thing that the glaivier would not—no, could not forgive.

His enemy's warning unheeded, the blonde man took a deep breath and readied his weapon once more. There was but a second's delay before he sprang forward, a smoky black trail left in his wake as he attempted to close the distance between himself and his enemy. Another blast of wind not unlike the one he had taken on in earnest moments prior bore down upon him again, but this time——————

"Enough."

Before the blonde man could attempt to crash through the winds that he had found himself victim to moments prior, the voice of a woman seemed to ring out through the battlefield. Anger had since clouded the man's judgement, though, and it seemed almost as if he would continue forward in spite of that declaration before the appearance of another between the two combatants stopped him in his tracks.

Mainly in part due to the blade gleaming in the sunlight pointed at his throat, though.

"Stand down before I take your head myself, Varst," the newcomer—a woman that the other Heralds seemed to be all to aware of—stated simply as she turned towards the tornado and swung her other sword up towards the sky through it.

In an instant, the howling gales seemed to be split down the middle, diverting away from her and her apparent subordinate. The presence of the being that 'Varst' had been fighting against seemed to matter little to the woman, who then waited in silence as she stared at the blonde man who seemed to be fuming in rage.

"Not until I cut that oversized—"

"Jerevic will be notified of your failures today. My choice to oversee your mission today does not mean that you will be given the same treatment I provide those under my command. Understood?"

It took a little bit for the implications of what the woman was saying to register, but eventually—and with a look of pure fury on his face— Varst slowly lowered his arms as his weapon returned to "normal".

"...Understood."

"Good," she said, finally turning to look at the opponent Varst had been fighting all this time before pointing her sword towards the skies above the town. "Regroup with what remains of the troops you so brazenly wasted the lives of and withdraw. I've already notified the mage assigned to your team to send the signal out."

As the woman continued to stare down the axe-wielding toa and the glaivier made to leave the battlefield, a beam of intertwining dark blue and yellow energy was promptly launched into the skies by one of the nearby mages. One turned into two, then more as they seemed to pop up all over from the town before simply disappearing. Once that brief light show had finished, though, the woman would begin to walk away, following after the other Heralds leaving the area.

@Lugubrious

---

With his body more or less left prone from falling, the red-haired teenager had no room with which to react as he was promptly thrown out of the way of the collapsing debris. Though he had resolved himself to his death when he had fired those arrows, being thrown to safety by the person who he had to kill was far from what he had expected. Seeing her escape the debris with little more than discomfort from the dust cloud brought forth by the impact was a bit disheartening to see on top of everything else, but the words that she spoke only left the archer confused and, oddly enough, angry.

"Grand words from someone who was ready to kill me moments ago," he spat back, shakily rising to his feet. "Does me being younger than the soldiers you cut down make my life worth more than theirs? I'd rather die with the other Heralds than go back to that damn orphanage they picked me up from, so if you think I'm going to—"

Before he could say any more, though, the sight of those multicolored beams of light rising into the sky caused the archer to stop his tirade and simply glare at the girl who had chosen for a few moments before continuing.

"...You'll regret this. I'll make sure of that."

And with those words of spite, the teenager pulled something out of his pocket and threw it into his mouth before biting into it. The shakiness in his body seemed to disappear as he began to run away, heedless of whatever words she might have thrown back in response, if any.

@DracoLunaris

“I tried to not kill them either!” Rayne shouted after the retreating boy, but she didn’t give chase. He was, after all, functionally doing what she had told him to do, even if as it turned out his adoptive family was a bunch of village burning murderers.

Plus, there were the questions first of what those beams of light were, but a quick dash chain up into the air answered that question, as she saw the other Heralds backing off and retreating. Presumably, she guessed, in response to the beams that had prompted the boy to run away. Which meant it was over. Well, as long as no one on their side went after them. Rayne most certainly wasn’t going to be one of them though.

Instead she took one look at the burning village, and then dashed back down into it, heading first for the buildings that had collapsed due to the boy’s reckless destruction, in which she checked for survivors. If she didn’t find any, be it for good or terrible reasons, she’d begin moving around the rest of the village till she did find the people who were living here, calling out “The Heralds are gone! Please, if you are trapped, or hurt, call out so I can find you! I’m Rayne, a Knight Witch, and I’m here to help!”

That said, her ways of helping were limited. Back in her world, she’d be able to teleport anyone she had a link with back to the safety of the children of Gaia (the Knight Witch’s parent organization)’s home base. Here, however, there was no such place to send people, and so the best she could do was use sword, spell, and might to clear rubble, and then either apply first aid to the injured or fly them to someone who could do better.

And that is if she found anyone at all. The Heralds had had the run of the town for much too long, and she hadn’t exactly seen anyone alive while they’d been fighting. She could only hope that they’d hidden themselves well, rather than being, well, dead to the last.

Well, a fat lot of good that did. Lewa knew he probably shouldn’t have even tried to talk this fiercely proud warrior down. Instead of extinguishing his smoldering ire, the toa’s wind had just fanned the flames. It looked like his opponent would only let this fight end one way: with one of them on the ground. And it’s not going to be me. That thought propelled Lewa’s joints into action as he whipped up another whirlwind, galvanized to action all the faster by his foe’s sudden, outraged approach. This was it–the deciding moment. Lewa readied himself for the swing strike. He didn’t want to hurt anyone, this guy wasn’t going to have it any other way. Mustering his strength, he unleashed his cyclone, and the winds roared.

As it turned out, though, this roller coaster ride of surprises was far from over.

A dark blur interposed itself between the two combatants, not just stopping Varst in his tracks with the threat of a lethal swordblade, but also blowing apart Lewa’s whirlwind as if it were no more than a summer breeze. Already halfway back into a fighting stance, the toa paused, his eyes wide with astonishment. Confusion as well, seeing that this interloper shared an aesthetic style with the Raven Heralds, but opposed Varst while ignoring Lewa altogether. He wasn’t sure what to make of this. Was this person an ally? An enemy? Should he attack while her defenseless back was turned? Probably not. On one hand that sort of underhanded move just wasn’t his style, while on the other, the confidence that oozed from this woman’s every movement made him think that any attempt at capitalization might just be poking the Muaka.

So instead Lewa settled for a state of tense readiness, listening in silence as the exchange between the two helped paint for him the bigger picture. It sounded like this ‘Varst’ might be playing the role of an unruly subordinate, an impulsive captain going over the head of his general. For a moment it looked like might turn his anger on the interloper, but the spitfire quickly got snuffed out. Like a rogue Gukko Bird captured and returned to its roost to sulk. To be honest, Lewa didn’t mind this turn of events. The fight was over, and nobody had to die. Sure, someone who seemed much stronger than this already-troublesome glaivier had revealed herself, but could Lewa’s future be any more uncertain than it already was? At this point, new twists and turns might just as well be drops in the ocean now that the dam of his previous worldview had burst.

While issuing orders, the peacemaker turned to stare at Lewa. He really couldn’t fathom what she might be thinking; his mask probably made his resignation apparent enough. It wasn’t much longer until she left, retreating alongside all the Raven Heralds who remained. “Guess this is a win,” he muttered, shrugging, before he replaced his axe on his back. Considering the situation at hand, things had turned out to be much more simple than he would have thought. Regardless, with the battle over, he felt compelled to seek out the others. Lewa jogged through the town, searching for either allies or survivors, until he spotted the small organic known as the Witch Knight. “Good to see you well-alive!” he hailed her, waving. As he slowed to a stop, he looked around, scanning the ruined village. “But where are the others?”

Anne managed to stand firm just long enough for the Herald to disappear from sight. As soon as the woman was gone, she stumbled over to the nearest wall and slumped against it, her breaths deep and haggard. A thin sheen of sweat covered her skin, as though she'd been running laps around the cavern for the last few minutes. Somehow, without knowing any of the context around this situation, she'd stumbled her way through to a nonviolent ending... And on top of being stressed from that, she'd had to maintain a state of battle-readiness for the whole conversation. Broken as she was, even this much effort took its toll on her.

"That's all," she said, her head leaned back and her eyes closed. "I'm beat. If any more Heralds show up, tell them we're not here." Joker was young, and seemed perfectly capable; he could handle the kids for a minute. She needed some time to gather her thoughts, without acting as a human shield for endangered children.

Without being fully conscious of it, she kept on turning the little box over and over in her hand. Intuition told her it was a clue, perhaps the key to unlocking this entire mystery, but the contents had only left her with even more questions than before. Without any recourse, she let out a deep sigh, and cracked open her eyes to look blearily at the others.

"How's Millie? Any sign she might wake up soon?" She phrased it hopefully, for Alvin's sake, but her words concealed the true depths of her worry for the girl. If that Herald woman had really gone and called off her subordinates, then the next step had to be getting the children some proper medical attention.

@PKMNB0Y@EchoWolff

The barrier had been smokescreen this time. Her Astral Lance, at the very least, had been considered a real potential threat by the opponent. The mage wasn't certain if it would have truly pierced completely and hit her enemy, but at the same time it was clear that her enemy believed it was a possibility.

Blood dripped down her arm, from her broken shoulder. She winced again.

"Astra-ah..."

An order to retreat...

Slowly, the small mage lowered her staff. What remained of Six Petal Lily faded, as well.

"..."

Wordlessly, she drifted away, rejoining the other magi just as swiftly as she had initially appeared.

@Raineh Daze@PKMNB0Y

Despite her best efforts, Sanae found herself unable to break through the enemy mage's defenses. For better or worse, she didn't even seem to register on the girl's radar beyond something to be blocked as she attempted to handle the perceived "real" threat—a fact which did hurt her pride a bit—but the sudden light show from around the city caused the green-haired wind priestess to pull back out of instinct. Where she had expected a follow-up attack to try and take her out from the skies, though, she found...

Well, nothing. Less than nothing, in fact—the enemy seemed to be moving to retreat from the town outright.

"I... Guess that counts as a win? Doesn't really feel like it, though," Sanae grumbled as she floated back down to ground level and landed near Saria. A wary glance around proved that the Heralds that could still move were retreating or dragging their injured peers away, but the young woman had no intent to engage in further combat with an injured enemy force—not when it seemed likely that she was a bit out of her depth here. Maybe more than a bit, really.

With no signs of any attempted parting shots, the young woman glanced towards the sky and, upon noticing the gathering storm clouds (a result of the town being lit aflame, possibly?), shook her head and sighed.

"Talk about dramatic timing. Rain should help put out what I couldn't, at least, but I don't want to think about how bad it'd be for the injured people who might be stuck out in the cold," she remarked before glancing towards the other woman at her side.

"...Or, well, that's just common sense, I guess. Might be a bit of a silly question, but you wouldn't happen to know how to handle rescue and recovery stuff, would you?"

It didn't help much that the tengu and kappa on Youkai Mountain were perfectly capable of preventing natural disasters from happening, of course, but if there was any time to want to hope that someone else would be able to lead the rescue efforts instead of her having to rely on bits and pieces she remembered from before she had moved to Gensokyo to begin with.

@Raineh Daze

---

Despite the explosivity of what the sniper had wrought, the rubble created from what had been destroyed didn't seem to have resulted in any loss of life. Missing large swaths of their walls made the houses structurally unsound, of course—a lack of supporting framework was what had caused the rest of the collapse to begin with—but there didn't seem to be any people unfortunate enough to have been caught up in that.

That didn't mean that there weren't any casualties to speak of, though. The bodies of a few dead townsfolk were strewn about the inside of a few homes, and some still showed traces of being recently ransacked by the invading forces. Those, however, seemed few and far between; most of the houses had been left mostly untouched, save a lack of human presence inside.

Eventually, though, Rayne's call to action drew some sort of response from a somewhat worn-down building closer to one of the town's southern gates—in other words, where the group had initially arrived from. The building itself was clearly not residential in nature, and the miraculously untouched sign featuring a bow and arrow alluded to it's intended purpose. The building seemed undamaged by the carnage at a glance, and upon entering the number of townsfolk—injured or otherwise—made clear that they had come here to seek refuge.

With that said, the sight of someone armed entering had immediately put the armed among their number—hunters, given their garb and the way they handled their bows—on edge. Seeing that the one who had arrived was not one of the Raven Heralds, though, the group slowly lowered their weapons as one of them chose to take the lead and speak up.

"Never seen your face before. Guessing you're part of the group that drove those guys off?" the hunter asked, gesturing at a few others who were still on edge to lower their weapons before stepping forward. "Name's Jeire. You have my thanks for stopping the Heralds before they got a chance to knock at our doors. That being said, we're a bit short-staffed right now—lots of people missing right now, of course, and we've got our hands full with the injured. Hope it isn't presumptuous of me to ask for whatever help you can give: first aid, rescue, cleanup... Not going to force you or anything, though.

@Lugubrious@DracoLunaris

---

Though he was still visibly shaken by everything that had happened, Alvin seemed to be doing remarkably well in terms of keeping himself together. Joker's words seemed to register in his ears as he shakily tried to stand up, only for his legs to fail him once more. But with the sounds and shadows of what he could only guess were the Raven Heralds disappearing, the young boy felt somewhat more at ease about the situation panning out as it had.

"I hope so... Maybe she's just tired...?" he asked in response to the black-haired teenager's assertion, hoping that such a simple explanation like that held true. "But if that lady really had the Heralds go away, then it should be safe for us to go back home, right?"

There was a moment of pause before Alvin's thoughts finally seemed to catch up with his body, and almost as if a dam had been broken, tears began to stream out of the child's eyes.

Even if it had taken place over what could only have been the shortest of timespans, one could only imagine how long that must have felt like to a child not used to such things.

@Drifting Pollen@EchoWolff